ABC Transporters and the Alzheimer's Disease Enigma

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered the "disease of the twenty-first century." With a 10-fold increase in global incidence over the past 100 years, AD is now reaching epidemic proportions and by all projections, AD patient numbers will continue to rise. Despite intense research eff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in psychiatry 2012, Vol.3, p.54-54
Main Authors: Wolf, Andrea, Bauer, Björn, Hartz, Anika M S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABC transporter
ABCA1
ABCA2
Alzheimer’s disease
Blood-Brain Barrier
P-Glycoprotein
Psychiatry
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Summary:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered the "disease of the twenty-first century." With a 10-fold increase in global incidence over the past 100 years, AD is now reaching epidemic proportions and by all projections, AD patient numbers will continue to rise. Despite intense research efforts, AD remains a mystery and effective therapies are still unavailable. This represents an unmet need resulting in clinical, social, and economic problems. Over the last decade, a new AD research focus has emerged: ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. In this article, we provide an overview of the ABC transporters ABCA1, ABCA2, P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), MRP1 (ABCC1), and BCRP (ABCG2), all of which are expressed in the brain and have been implicated in AD. We summarize recent findings on the role of these five transporters in AD, and discuss their potential to serve as therapeutic targets.
ISSN:1664-0640
1664-0640
DOI:10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00054